Abstract
Background
Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines many of the elements of tennis, badminton,
and ping-pong. It is reported to be one of the faster growing sports in the United
States and is popular among older adults. There is limited published information on
pickleball-related injuries.
Objective
The objective of this study was to describe pickleball-related injuries treated in
U.S. emergency departments (EDs).
Methods
An analysis was performed of pickleball-related injuries using data from the National
Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission during 2001–2017.
Results
A total of 300 pickleball-related injuries were identified, resulting in a national
estimate of 19,012 injuries. The annual estimated number of injuries increased during
2013–2017. Patients 50 years or older accounted for 90.9% of the patients; 50.4% were
male. The injury occurred at a sports or recreational facility in 74.3% of the cases.
The most common injuries were strain or sprain (28.7%) and fracture (27.7%). The affected
body part was the lower extremity in 32.0% of the cases and upper extremity in 25.4%.
The patient was treated or evaluated and released from the ED in 88.0% of the cases.
Conclusions
Based on NEISS data, pickleball-related injuries have been increasing in recent years.
Although pickleball-related injuries have many similarities with those associated
with other racquet sports, there were various differences (e.g., increasing trend
and older patient age) that may need to be considered for the prevention and management
of injuries related to the sport.
Keywords
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References
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: November 30, 2019
Accepted:
September 13,
2019
Received in revised form:
August 12,
2019
Received:
June 1,
2019
Footnotes
Data are publically available and de-identified; therefore, the study is exempt from Institutional Review Board approval.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
